Dear Abby

By Abby Van BurenThe Cincinnati Enquirer

Dear Abby: My mother died in October of 1995, and it had always been her wish to be cremated so that she could help the soil grow wildflowers. We spread her ashes in the family cemetery. The following winter and spring were extremely dry in Texas. Spring rain was practiacally non-existent and we had none of the usual wildflowers that typically paint our fields and highways.

My parents had been happily married for 49 years and her death was devastating to my father. He visited the cemetery often.

In March, when Dad drove to the cemetery for a visit, he couldn’t believe his eyes. The area where we had lain mother’s ashes was covered with small blue wildflowers! He wept while gathering some of them. He didn’t know what kind of flowers they were, so after returning home, he shoowed them to a knowledgable friend who replied, " These are forget-me-nots!" Despite the drought, my mother’s last wish had come true. - Her Daughter

Dear Daughter: How fitting that your mother got her wish, and how apporopiate the symbolism of the flowers that greeted your father when he went to pay his respects to the memory of his beloved wife.

This article was published by The Cincinnati Enquirer on September 7, 1997 and was written by Abby Van Buren.